Cost Actuals
Cost actuals represent money committed or spent on a project. Every actual is assigned to a cost code, which enables budget vs. actual variance reporting at any level of detail.
Types of Cost Actuals
| Type | When to Use |
|---|---|
| Invoice | Subcontractor or vendor invoice received |
| Purchase Order | PO issued for materials or services; cost committed but not yet invoiced |
| Receipt | Out-of-pocket purchase (credit card, cash) |
| Payroll | Self-perform labor cost, entered manually against a labor cost code |
| Adjustment | Manual correction or project-owner-approved change order |
Entering a Cost Actual
Navigate to Cost Intelligence → Actuals → Add Actual or add directly from a line item in the estimate. Fields:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Type | Invoice, PO, Receipt, Payroll, Adjustment |
| Cost code | Must match a code in the active estimate (or add a new code) |
| Vendor / Subcontractor | Select from your contacts list |
| Description | Invoice or PO description |
| Amount | Dollar amount |
| Invoice/PO number | For reference and matching |
| Invoice date | Date on the document |
| Due date | Payment due date (invoices only) |
| Attachment | Upload the invoice PDF |
Purchase Order vs. Invoice
TrueGrade distinguishes between committed costs (POs) and incurred costs (invoices):
- A Purchase Order commits budget — it shows in the “committed” column of budget reporting
- An Invoice against an existing PO converts committed cost to actual cost
- Invoices not linked to a PO are entered as standalone actuals
This distinction lets you see full project exposure (budget + committed) at any point in the project.
Approved Change Orders
When scope changes are approved, record them as Adjustment type actuals with the change order number in the description. The variance report will show the original estimate, the adjustments, the revised budget, and actual spend against each.
Approved change orders do not modify the locked baseline estimate. They are tracked as adjustments, which keeps the baseline intact for comparison.
Marking Invoices Paid
Invoices can be marked as paid when payment is issued. This does not affect cost reporting (the cost is recognized when the invoice is entered) but enables accounts payable tracking. Filter actuals by Unpaid to see outstanding invoices.